RailTel confirmed that it did not float any tender for e-chemist or home delivery of medicines through railway-run hospitals. For context, in December 2024, quoting anonymous officials, the Economic Times reported that Indian Railways was in talks with online pharmacy companies for the home delivery of medicines from hospitals run by Indian Railways. Now, in its reply to an RTI filed by MediaNama, RailTel clarified that it did not float the tender inviting such bids, and the Railway Board communicated the same to RailTel on July 16, 2025.
RailTel Corporation of India, a Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprise incorporated in 2000, provides Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services, and it also operates one of India’s largest neutral telecom infrastructure networks to modernise the railway telecom system for train control, operations, and safety while generating additional revenue through a nationwide broadband and multimedia network built along the Indian railway tracks. For example, PM-WANI (Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface) is also part of RailTel’s services.
Some Context of Around RailTel and e-Pharmacy
In December 2024, RailTel issued (archive) an Expression of Interest (EOI) to empanel Authorised Local e-Chemists (ALeCs) for a one-year pilot program to deliver medicines through the railway medical system at Northern Railway Central Hospital in New Delhi. The program aimed to create a panel of ALeCs to home-deliver medicines through real-time integration, improve patient satisfaction, and generate revenue for the involved stakeholders.
The EOI outlined the following delivery framework:
- Express: within four hours
- Normal: within 4-8 hours
- Default: within 8-24 hours
According to the EOI, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) will determine the delivery charges, and the above-mentioned pilot was planned to operate only in the Delhi-NCR region. The revenue model included token transaction fees starting at Rs. 20 per self-purchase and monetisation of push notifications and advertisements. To ensure secure deliveries, the EOI required a three-factor authentication system consisting of an ALeC-generated one-time password (OTP), geo-tagged acknowledgement, and a digital signature on each delivery receipt.
Why the Tender Proposal Irked the Medical Industry?
When the Economic Times reported that Indian Railways was in talks with e-pharmacy companies, the All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD), which represents about 800,000 members, pointed out the legal grey zones in which the online pharmacy stores are still functioning. So, addressing this, it had written a letter to the Ministry of Railways saying that the e-pharmacies are subject to legal penalties.
The Chemist association argued that online medicine deliveries violate the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and outlined the following points to support its argument:
- Under the Ministry of Health and…
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